With the legendary Drifters performing full concerts on consecutive days and key tourism officials presiding at the opening ceremony, summer’s hottest ticket will again be Fiesta In America which is slated to celebrate its 19th Anniversary on Aug. 12 and 13.

The event’s ribbon-cutting will be held on Saturday, Aug. 12, 12 noon, in the lobby of New Jersey’s Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus.

At the same venue on Sunday, Aug. 13, 10 a.m., a Holy Mass followed by a Santacruzan will lead-off the festivities, paving the way to another live performance by Drifters as the final day’s highpoint.

To usher in Fiesta In America’s two-day celebration, the People’s Ball dinner-dance will take participants down disco lane with a ‘60s theme on Friday, Aug. 11, 6 p.m., at the Hilton Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.

“Participants can expect a three-day series of total entertainment, starting with themed dancing at the Ball, followed at Fiesta In America by export-grade products, immigrant-tailored services and free workshops at the Trade Pavilion, then capped by OPM and Manila Sound legends, as well as Rock and Roll Hall of Famers on the cultural show’s stage,” said Fiesta In America’s President and CEO Nanding Mendez.

“Those three successive days, Aug. 11 to 13, will provide Filipino and multi-cultural attendees with a triple entertainment treat that will be hard to match in the East Coast Fil-Am community.”

Throughout their five decades, line-up changes and over 200 million albums sold, the Drifters have stayed at the forefront of rock and roll, pop and doo-wop through timeless gems, including Save the Last Dance For Me, There Goes My Baby, and Under the Boardwalk.

But their curtain-raisers are just as superb.

Composer, singer, arranger and TV host Rey Valera has produced hit singles for himself, but is better known for penning chart-topping songs for A-List artists such as Sharon Cuneta and Rico J. Puno.

Filipino-American Jessica Sanchez was universally acknowledged in 2012 as the true standout of American Idol’s Season 11.

Noven Belleza rose from rice farming to winning awards that culminated in his championship performance at Tawag Ng Tanghalan earlier this year.

Music and Magic (Fe de los Reyes, Eva Caparas and Jet Montelibano) and VST and Company (featuring Spanky and Roger Rigor) are trailblazers of the Manila Sound in the late ‘70s and ‘80s.

Also featuring in the festivities are performances of The Band of Brothers, The Arato Brothers, Sounds of Manila, The Wannabees and YFL Dance group.

On both days of Fiesta In America, attendees can avail themselves of free health screenings at designated seminar rooms, and as free seminars by Ayala One, HSBC and Goya Foods.

At the head of the marquee Trade Pavilion, Total Wellness-themed presentations and promotions will be conducted by major sponsors such as AARP, led by General (ret.) Antonio Taguba; Goya (free tastings of healthy food); Hackensack Meridian Health (no-cost vital signs screenings); and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (the state’s leading HMO will also station a health van at landing of the Meadowlands Expo Center).